Which is a reason, after all, not to be too pessimistic about America's cultural divisions.

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These fortuitous conditions may not last, but for now they are good reasons not to be too pessimistic.

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In other words, if we train our brains to be optimistic or pessimistic -- to navigate, intentionally or not, the streets and avenues of positive or negative feelings -- we change (just as cab drivers do with their spatial circuits) the emotional circuits in our brains that determine how we respond to the things that happen around us.

CNN: Make your 'rainy brain' sunnier